


Taken

by sgtcalhouns



Category: Wreck-It Ralph (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hero's Duty, Injury, Love Confessions, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24169666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgtcalhouns/pseuds/sgtcalhouns
Summary: Tamora isn’t ready to tell people about her relationship with Felix. A rogue cybug has other plans.
Relationships: Tamora Calhoun/Fix-It Felix Jr., hero's cuties - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	Taken

It was still dark outside when Felix began to stir—not that there was much daylight to speak of in _Hero’s Duty_. Still, he could tell it was early in the morning even before lifting his head to look at the clock on the bedside table. The flashing red digits read _5:34_ ; the rest of the platoon would start waking up around six. He turned over his shoulder to look at Tamora, who was still sleeping soundly as she held him close. The sight never failed to melt his heart. To the rest of the arcade she was the tough and ruthless leader of her game, but as he looked at her face in peaceful slumber, he saw the softness that so rarely graced her features during waking hours. This was the Tamora he knew, and he hated this part of the day when he was forced to wake her up and disturb that soft image. He rubbed her arm and she breathed deeply as she came into consciousness. Once she was fully awake, Felix rolled over to face her.

“I should probably go,” he sighed. “If I don’t leave soon someone might see me.”

“I wish you could stay longer,” Tamora said with a frown.

“Me, too,” he replied.

He leaned in to kiss her, making it that much harder to get out of bed and leave her for the day.

“You know,” he began, “I could stay a little while longer. There’s still plenty of time before the arcade opens, but it would mean being seen here by your soldiers.”

“Felix, we talked about this,” she said. “I’m just... I’m not ready for them to know about us. Not yet.”

“I understand,” he responded with a smile that he hoped was enough to mask his disappointment. 

It had been a few weeks since that fateful day when they had teamed up to save the arcade, and they had been seeing each other ever since. Tamora had a complicated past and tended to be more reserved with her emotions than Felix was. He knew this about her and tried his best to be understanding, but he couldn’t help but struggle with the fact that she wanted to keep their relationship private. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of him—she insisted that her request to keep things between them had everything to do with her soldiers and how poorly they might react to the fact that she was in a new relationship. Brad was in their backstories, too, and she worried that they wouldn’t accept Felix. However, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was a small part of her that was embarrassed to be seen with him. 

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“It’s nothin’ we haven’t talked about before,” he admitted. 

Tamora sighed.

“I know,” Felix said. “I don’t mean to keep harpin’ on the same things, and I don’t want to make you feel bad. I’m just so crazy about you, I wish I could share it with everyone.”

“I know,” she replied. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m the one who should be sorry,” he said. “I told you on our first night together that I would wait as long as you needed. You’re more than worth the wait.”

“Thank you, Felix,” she said.

He kissed her nose and smiled.

“Anything for you.”

By the time they dressed themselves and left Tamora’s quarters, they were cutting it close on time. In the name of safety, she always walked him to the platform of the high-speed bullet train that would carry him back to Game Central Station, but on days like this, there was no time for lingering affection. Any moment now, the wake up call would disturb the silence that surrounded them.

“Say, Tammy, before I leave...” he trailed off, giving her a hopeful smile. “D’you think we have time for one quick kiss?”

Tamora looked over her shoulder to check for any early risers who might be roaming their direction. When she saw that the coast was clear, she looked back at him with a smirk.

“ _One_ kiss,” she said, kneeling down in front of him.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers for one sweet moment of bliss. As she pulled away, he couldn’t help the dreamy grin that graced his features. 

“Bye, Felix,” said with a soft smile.

“Goodbye, Tammy,” he replied.

He stole another quick peck as she stood to leave. There was a moment of pause before they separated; they always struggled with this part of the day as they were both reluctant to part ways. Suddenly, the wake up call sounded throughout the barracks, startling them out of their private moment. 

“Well, I, uh...” Felix began. “I guess I’d better head back now.”

Tamora nodded. She had begun her daily transformation into the hardened sergeant the arcade was familiar with, but he could see the soft look of endearment in her eyes that always made his heart race. What a privilege to know such tenderness. 

“I’ll see you tonight,” he said as he began taking a few steps backward toward the platform. “Have a good day!”

She smiled back at him, but before she could respond, a metallic clicking sound drew their focus away from their conversation and toward the ceiling. Their heads snapped upward as the noise continued for a moment, and then stopped again. When they locked eyes again he could see the fear in her eyes and his suspicions about the source of the sound were confirmed—there was a cybug in the ceiling above them. How it had escaped the beacon and made it past the men patrolling throughout the night, they didn’t know. All Tamora knew was that she needed to get Felix out of her game, _now_.

“Felix,” she muttered, keeping her voice low, “get on the train.”

“What about you?” he asked.

“I’ll be fine,” she answered, directing her attention toward the ceiling panels and reaching for her blaster, “but if you don’t book it to your game as quickly and quietly as possible, you might never make it back there. Do you understand me?”

He gulped and nodded, but found himself too paralyzed by fear to move.

“Hey,” she said, her voice surprisingly gentle as she noticed his panic. He met her reassuring gaze and took a deep breath. “It’s going to be okay. But you need to get out of here. It’s not safe for you right now.”

A shuddering breath forced its way out of his lungs as he nodded, taking quick steps backward while keeping his eyes on the ceiling. Before either of them could react, the cybug came crashing down, pinning Felix to the floor. Immediately all of Tamora’s worst memories flooded her mind. She had already lost someone this way—under no circumstances would she allow it to happen again. Adrenaline took over and she took the virus out with a single shot to the head before it could do any further damage. Her blurry silhouette was the last thing Felix saw before everything faded to black.

* * *

When Felix began fading back into consciousness, it was noticeably louder in the hallway. A cacophony of voices startled him into alertness, and his eyes snapped open to reveal several soldiers gathered around him. The weight of the cybug pinned him to the floor, making it hard to breathe. Just as he began to panic, he spotted Tamora shouting orders to her men; her presence provided him with an immediate sense of relief.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice timid.

“Fix-It,” Tamora said. She knelt down beside him. 

“What happened?” he asked. His breathing was shallow and his voice was weak.

“The cybug nearly crushed you when it fell out of the ceiling. One of the pincers is in your leg,” she explained. “We’re going to lift the carcass off of you so we can extract it. It’s going to be painful.”

Her tone was impersonal as she described the situation to him. Felix could see that she was trying to appear professional in front of her men, reminding him that he couldn’t seek the comfort he wanted from her until they were left alone. 

“That’s okay,” he wheezed. “I can fix it.”

Tamora gave him half a smile. It was just like him to try to lighten the mood under such extreme circumstances; here he was, crushed beneath the body of a dead cybug, still trying to make her feel better. 

“We’re going to start now,” she said, signaling to her men. “We’ll move as quickly as we can, but it’s going to hurt no matter what.”

He nodded, bracing himself for the pain. On Tamora’s count, the soldiers slowly began to lift the carcass off of him. Breathing came easier, but there was a distinct discomfort below his knee as the sharp claw that penetrated his skin shifted as a result of the movement. His eyes screwed shut as he tried to remain strong, but with every second, the pain became worse. Tamora took notice of his struggle and called out to him.

“Fix-It, eyes up here,” she said. 

Felix obeyed the command and looked up at her. Looking into her eyes, he could see her concern for his safety shining through, but as he looked closer, he saw that there was so much more happening behind the scenes. Worry, care, and self-blame all presented themselves to him from behind those eyes, and he wished there was a way to reassure her. A sudden, sharp pain jerked him out of his thoughts and he looked down, catching a glimpse of the long claw that was stuck inside him. The sight terrified him, but before he could go into a full-blown panic, Tamora caught his attention.

“Up here, Felix,” she said, trying her hardest to be comforting through the physical exertion of hauling a dead cybug off the ground. “Don’t look at anything else. Just focus right here.”

He nodded, groaning as the pain intensified. 

“I know it hurts,” she said, “but it’s going to be alright. Just trust me.”

“I do,” he said through gritted teeth.

The bug was now a few feet off the ground, which meant there was enough room for someone to crawl underneath to work more carefully on removing the pincer from Felix’s leg. It appeared as though this job had been designated to Tamora, who crouched down beside him. 

“I’m going down there to pull it out now,” she said. “I know it’ll be tempting, but don’t watch. You’ll only feel worse.”

“Okay,” he nodded.

There was no one he trusted more to perform this task than Tamora, but he did feel more anxious knowing that she wouldn’t be there to soothe him during the worst of it. His breathing became more and more shallow as his eyes darted around the room searching for something, _anything_ , to focus on. Kohut saw him struggling and decided to spark up a conversation in the hopes of distracting him.

“Try and think about something else,” Kohut said. “Tell me about yourself.”

“I’m Fix-It Felix Jr. from... from the game, _Fix-It Felix Jr._ ,” Felix said through gritted teeth.

“Thank you for the incredible detail,” Kohut chuckled. “Tell me something I don’t know. Got any hobbies? Or a cute little girlfriend over there in Niceland?”

“No. The ladies in my game are wonderful, but they’re not exactly...” Felix trailed off. “I’m not involved with any of them”

“But you _are_ seeing someone, aren’t you?” Kohut said with a knowing grin. “Someone from another game. Is it the chick from Donkey Kong? What’s her name—”

“Pauline and I are just friends,” Felix said, smiling through his pain. 

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?” Kohut asked.

“Nope,” Felix replied. 

Down below, Tamora was smiling, too. It was amusing watching Felix joke around with one of her men, and it put her at ease to see how easily he was able to get along with them.

“Come on, you gotta give me something,” Kohut said. “What’s she like?”

“She’s incredible,” Felix said. He was panting for breath as he fought through the pain, but that dreamy, far-away look was still present in his eyes. “She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met, but I’m not scared or intimidated by it, I—I’m excited. I’d been doing the same thing every day for thirty years, and then she came along and changed everything. I didn’t even know I wanted something like that before I met her, but now I can’t imagine going back to the way things were before.”

“She sounds pretty special.”

“Oh, she is. I care about her so much,” he said. “I— _Ahh_.”

A sharp sting cut his sentence short. At his feet, Tamora had almost finished working the sharp claw out of his leg, but his words had distracted her from her attempt to be gentle. Wrapped up in the things he was saying about her, she had yanked on his leg by accident.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m almost done. This last bit is probably going to hurt more than the rest, so get ready.”

Felix nodded, screwing his eyes shut as he braced himself for the worst of this torture. 

“Keep talking,” Kohut said. “We’re almost finished. What were you saying before?”

“I’ve never been this happy,” Felix choked out. “I’m—jiminy _jaminy_ , that smarts.”

“We’re right at the finish line, buddy,” said Kohut. “Keep going.”

Felix opened his mouth to speak, but a terrible garbled yelp came out instead. Just as Tamora gave the pincer one last tug, he finally managed to shout out the rest of his thought.

“I’m falling in love with her!”

The moment his wound met the open air, he gasped. It was a brand new form of misery as the deep cut was left open and raw, and he could not will his body to move toward his hammer. Tamora rushed back up to his torso and sat him up, grabbing his hammer out of his belt and pushing it into his hand. She guided him to the wound and a yellow glow shone from his leg as he healed himself. A collective sigh of relief washed over the crowd.

“Good as new,” he said, still breathing heavily. He was exhausted, and it was clear in his voice. “Told you I could fix it.”

“You’re something else, Fix-It,” Kohut said with a laugh. “For such a small guy, you sure can handle a lot of pain.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you fellas,” Felix said. “Thank you—all of you.”

He turned his gaze toward Tamora, whose eyes were bright with an emotion he didn’t recognize. She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him close, crushing her lips to his in a heated kiss. Murmurs of surprise sounded throughout the crowd, but she didn’t care. Felix was flabbergasted by this display of affection, but he was more than happy to caress her cheek and return the kiss. Several seconds ticked by before she released him, and he was somewhat hesitant to speak up; he was thrilled beyond belief, but he wasn’t sure how much thought she had put into the kiss. What if she was having regrets?

“What are you doing?” he asked softly. “I thought you said—”

“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have tried to hide this for so long,” she said. “I’m sorry I did that to you.”

“It’s okay,” he replied. “I understand why you did.”

“No, it’s not okay,” she said. She took a deep breath before continuing. “I love you, Felix. I shouldn’t have been so afraid of that.”

Felix was stunned by her confession.

“...What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” she replied. Her smile was somewhat bashful as she locked eyes with him, and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“You’re right, I did, I just...” he paused with a small chuckle of disbelief. A bright pink flush coated his cheeks and a broad smile stretched across his lips. “I really liked hearing you say those words in my direction.”

“Are you going to send them back my way or what?” she teased.

“Oh, Tammy, I...”

His sentence trailed off as he looked into her eyes. This was the happiest moment of his life, and if he had to go through a near-death experience to get here, then so be it. He kissed her again, unable to stop smiling. 

“I love you, too.”

Kohut cleared his throat, drawing their attention.

“I hate to interrupt this little moment, but, uh...” He gestured to the cybug that Tamora’s team was still holding. “Where do you want us to put this thing?”

“Drop it on the battlefield, it’ll disappear with the first quarter alert,” she said.

She stood up and helped Felix to his feet. As they made plans to visit Fix-It Felix Jr. before the arcade opened, they were interrupted once again by Kohut.

“Say, Fix-It, that hammer of yours... Can it really fix anything?” he asked.

“Yes sir,” came the handyman’s chipper reply. “I’ve never met a wreck that this hammer couldn’t fix.”

“D’you think you could come by later to fix that hole in the ceiling?”

Before Felix could agree, Tamora cut him off.

“Absolutely not. You let a cybug get past your patrol last night. No one leaves this game tonight until you fix it yourselves,” she said. 

She had no pity for her men despite the quiet complaints she could hear from the group.

“Besides,” she said as she took Felix by the hand. “He’s got a date tonight.”


End file.
